Abstract
The Golgi bodies in the neurones of the cerebral and visceral ganglia of a pelecypod, I Meretrix meretrix lusoria (Gemelin), were studied in the living condition with the phase optics and in ultra-thin sections by electron microscopy, by way of comparison with those demonstrated by the classical method.
In Kolatchev preparations, the Golgi bodies appear as separated bodies in the form of a dot, rod or crescent. They correspond to the dictyosomes described by previous workers. They are particularly dense in occurrence in the cytoplasm around the nucleus and in the axon-hillock.
Observations by phase contrast microscopy reveal that the Golgi bodies in the living neurones appear as round bodies, each having a dark ring- or crescent-shaped rim and a light center. They show a structure consisting of a cortex and a medulla which correspond to a dictyosome and an archoplasm, respectively.
The dictyosomal portion of the Golgi bodies is stained with neutral red with some difficulty, while the archoplasm is inactive to the stain. The cytoplasm contains small granules or lipochondria which are distinctly and homogeneously stained with neutral red.
Each of the Golgi bodies when examined under the electron microscope is found to be a complex consisting of paired membranes, vacuoles and granules or microvesicles. It is probable that the dictyosome is composed of a stack of paired membranes and that the archoplasm is an aggregation of vacuoles and microvesicles.
